I Will Break The Walls
by WinterSky101
Summary: JJ is the new superhero known as King, and Isabella is the reporter assigned to cover him. First in "When You Believe In Yourself, You Are Unstoppable."


**This fic is for the event JJ Style Week, for the fourth prompt: Crossover. Title comes from "Theme of King JJ."**

* * *

Isabella jumps when Mitchell Ellison drops a copy of _The Daily Bugle_ on her desk. "Um, sir?" she asks tentatively. "What-"

"Have you seen the stuff about the new superhero in town?" Ellison demands, smoothing out the newspaper on Isabella's desk. The headline, big and bold, reads _Another New Superhero in New York: When Will This Epidemic End?_ "Calls himself 'King.' His power is flight, as far as anyone can tell. He stopped a robbery with Iron Man yesterday."

"I heard about him."

"I'm putting you in charge of the story."

Isabella gapes. "Me?"

"You," Ellison confirms. "You're a good reporter, Yang. I'm giving you this as a chance to prove yourself."

"T-Thank you, sir!"

"If this guy does anything, I want us to have an article about it," Ellison adds. "We can let the little stuff slide by, no articles about him rescuing kittens out of trees unless it's a really slow news week. But the other stuff? Anything about him stopping super villains or fighting aliens or" - Ellison jabs his finger at the copy of _The Daily Bugle_ on the desk - "stopping a bank robbery? I want you on it."

"I will be," Isabella promises.

"And if you can get an exclusive with this guy, especially if you can do it before the _Bugle_ or the _Globe_ , then you're looking at a promotion."

A promotion. If Isabella gets it, she can become an editor, and although she'll miss writing articles, the pay rise will be more than welcome. She doesn't know how she'll manage to finagle an exclusive with King, but she'll figure it out.

"I'll get you that exclusive," she promises rashly. "You can count on me."

Ellison grins. "That's what I like to hear. Keep up the good work, Yang." He walks back to his office, leaving Isabella with the copy of _The Daily Bugle_ and a burning desire to research everything she can related to this King and find him as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, there's not much to research. After half an hour of Google searching, Isabella only finds a little. King's very new to the superhero scene. Isabella can't find any articles about him from more than a week ago. He's been working with Iron Man quite a bit, so maybe Isabella can find something from that angle. She'll look into it.

When she gets home, she's going to have to get out her old police scanner again.

"Okay, so what was that?" an eager voice demands. "Did I just hear someone getting offered a _promotion_?"

"Hello, Phichit," Isabella replies dryly. "Nice to know you're eavesdropping on my conversations."

"Only the interesting ones," Phichit replies unabashedly. He drops into a nearby chair and props his elbows up on Isabella's desk. "So, spill. Are you leaving us or not?"

"Ellison wants me to be in charge of reporting on the new superhero King," Isabella admits. "And he says if I get an exclusive, I might get a promotion."

"Hey, that's awesome!" Phichit cries. "You and Yuuri can be superhero watch buddies now! Just don't get as obsessed with King as he is about Cryo."

"I'm not obsessed with Cryo," Yuuri protests, appearing apparently out of nowhere, as he often seems to do whenever Cryo is mentioned. "I just appreciate what he does for the city, and I'm in charge of reporting on him."

"And you have a major crush," Phichit adds. "You can't hide from me, Yuuri, I know what your bedroom looks like."

Yuuri's face goes bright red. Isabella laughs. "Cryo _is_ pretty cool," she agrees. Cryo is one of New York's many heroes, and although he's not officially an Avenger, he works with the Avengers a lot. Yuuri swears they wouldn't have been able to take down that fire villain without his ice powers, which Isabella has to admit is probably at least partially true. "Yuuri, do you have any tips for me for reporting on superheroes? Ellison wants me to get an exclusive with King, but I don't know how."

Yuuri's blush deepens. "I've never gotten an exclusive with Cryo," he admits. "I've, um, actually never talked to him before."

"Never got the chance?" Isabella asks, her heart sinking. Is it that hard to talk to a superhero?

"Never took the chance when he had it," Phichit corrects. "Yuuri can get a little starstruck around his crush sometimes."

"Phichit, shut _up_."

"You didn't deny that you have a crush on him."

"Phichit, I swear to God-"

"I hope I can get an exclusive," Isabella interrupts before Phichit and Yuuri can get too deep into their squabble. "God, I'd love that promotion."

"You deserve it!" Phichit cries. "You're a great writer, Isabella. You're gonna get an amazing exclusive and wow Ellison so much he makes you the head editor and gives you a million dollar pay raise."

"I somehow doubt that's going to happen, but I'd settle for just being an editor," Isabella replies. "It shouldn't be too hard, right? All I've got to do is get an exclusive with a superhero." She pauses, thinks for a moment, then asks, "How the hell do you get an exclusive with a superhero?"

"Well, whatever you do, _don't_ just admire them from afar and buy all their posters and report on everything they do without ever even _trying_ to talk to them-"

"Phichit!"

Isabella watches as a giggling Phichit runs away from a blushing but furious Yuuri and heaves a deep sigh. So much for help from those two. She'll have to figure it out herself.

Well, she's young, she's smart, and she's cute. She'll figure out a way to get an exclusive out of King, no matter what she has to do to get it.

* * *

"Okay, Otabek, what am I looking at here?"

JJ hears Otabek hum over their new comm system. It's much better than their old one, probably because this is Stark tech and not a jury-rigged attempt a comm system made out of kid's walkie-talkies and a signal booster. That worked, which is really proof of Otabek's genius right there, but Stark's comms work much better.

 _"Looks like the bomb is on the third floor, but there's no easy way to get up to it from the first. I'm checking all of the cameras and cross-referencing them with the floor plans, but I think you might need to punch your way in."_

"I can do that," JJ replies, grinning. Punching his way in is his favorite.

 _"Cryo should be there any minute to help out,"_ Otabek adds. _"Maybe wait for him?"_

"King doesn't need to wait for help," JJ replies dismissively.

 _"There are lots of traps in there, and a bunch of guards. Wait for Cryo, for my sake, at least. You know how much I hate it when you go into places like this without backup. You're not indestructible."_

"Fine, I'll wait for Cryo." JJ sighs. "You know, if you suited up and came out with me, then I'd have backup."

 _"Nice try."_

"Oh, come _on_ , Otabek! It would be super fun! You could be my sidekick!"

 _"Sidekick, really?"_

"Okay, fine, partner." JJ frowns, narrowing his eyes. "I think Cryo's coming, but there's someone with him."

 _"Let me take a look."_ There's a moment of silence, then Otabek says in a somewhat concerned voice, _"He looks like a kid."_

"Cryo's bringing a kid with him?"

 _"I mean, he's in a suit,"_ Otabek replies. _"And Cryo doesn't look too happy about it. I think maybe the kid decided to tag along himself."_

"As long as he doesn't get in our way," JJ sighs. As Cryo and the kid get closer, he swoops down and lands in front of them. "Hey, Cryo! I'm King. Ready to stop this bomb?"

"King?" the kid asks derisively. He's got a similar accent to Cryo's, probably Russian. "That's a stupid name."

"And what's your name, kiddo?" JJ asks, because honestly, the kid might be wearing a suit, but he still looks like he's about fifteen.

The kid bristles. "Ice Tiger," he retorts.

JJ raises an eyebrow. "Ice Tiger?"

"You got a problem with that?"

"He insisted on tagging along," Cryo interrupts, looking somewhat weary. "He has this idea that he's going to be my successor, even though I'm not retiring any time soon-"

"Keep saying that, old man," the kid - JJ refuses to call him Ice Tiger - mutters. JJ looks at Cryo for a moment. Maybe the kid calls him old, but if Cryo can't be a day over thirty, if that. The silver hair makes him look a bit older, granted, but his face is too youthful to be old enough to retire.

"I think this is probably a grownups only thing," JJ says. He pats the kid on the head, ignoring the death glare he gets. "Kids will only slow down my King Style."

"Oh my god, did you just say 'King Style'?" The kid glares at JJ, then at Cryo. "Why are all of you so lame?"

"Ignore him," Cryo sighs. "Do you know where the bomb is?"

"Third floor," JJ replies promptly. "The best way to get in is probably to punch our way through."

 _"There's a big window on the third floor around on the other side of the building,"_ Otabek pipes in helpfully. _"It's not the same room as the bomb, but it's close."_

"There's a window on the other side of the building," JJ relays to Cryo and the kid. "Should we go in there?"

Cryo frowns. "It seems too obvious," he replies. "The window might be a trap. Any other good ways in?"

 _"There's a fire escape,"_ Otabek offers. _"I've tapped into the security camera near it, and I don't see anyone there."_

"There's a fire escape," JJ suggests. "We could go in there."

"Can we just go in already?" the kid demands. "I thought we wanted to stop them from blowing up the building, not just wait here and watch."

"The fire escape sounds good," Cryo says. "We'll meet you there."

"Be fast," JJ replies, taking off and flying over to the fire escape. He can see Cryo gesturing something at the kid, then they both make the ice ramps that Cryo's known for. It seems the kid has ice powers too. It would explain why he thinks he's going to be Cryo's replacement, although JJ would guess he has some work to do before he gets to be as good with his powers as Cryo is.

"Those things are stupid," the kid complains when he and Cryo reach the fire escape. "Now there's a bunch of ice here."

"Then you need to work on absorbing it back in," Cryo replies, closing his eyes for a moment. The ice seems to suck back into his body, the ramps disappearing immediately. "If you can think of a better way to travel around, then do it. Until then, we do things my way."

The kid scowls. He seems to do that a lot. JJ decides it's best to ignore him and focus on Cryo instead.

"Are we going in?"

Cryo grins. The temperature seems to drop a few degrees. "Let's go."

 _"Watch out,"_ Otabek warns. _"I'm counting at least a dozen heat signatures in there."_

JJ isn't sure why there are so many people in there when they intend to set off a bomb, but he relays the information to the others anyway. "Probably at least a dozen guards in there."

"We'll be ready for them," the kid says, a somewhat terrifying smile on his face.

"Let's go," Cryo says, and the door into the building first gets coated in ice, then explodes.

JJ grins, nods at Cryo, and bursts in.

* * *

Isabella watches with the other bystanders and reporters, even though there's not really anything to see. "This is a lot of being a superhero reporter," Yuuri tells her, fiddling with his notepad. "Lots of waiting while they defeat the bad guys."

Isabella sighs and waits for something to happen. King, Cryo, and some unknown third hero were spotted entering this building, presumably to deal with the bomb threat in there. It's been a while. The bomb hasn't gone off, but no one's come out either.

And then the window blows outward as King is thrown out in the shower of broken glass. A second later, a sheet of ice curls around the building, catching all of the glass and directing it into a heap in front of the building. King waves at the bystanders before flying back into the building. Isabella thanks her lucky stars she's been filming the whole time with the camera pinned to her purse strap, even though she's going to have to go through a lot of useless footage to get that bit.

With the window broken, it's easier to hear the fighting going on inside. Isabella looks over at Yuuri, whose fiddling has increased tenfold. "Do you think they're okay?" she asks tentatively. "I mean, King just got thrown out a _window_."

"They're superheroes," Yuuri replies weakly. "I mean, they do this all the time. And they have suits to help absorb the impact of things like this."

"Is there some sort of superhero doctor?" Isabella asks curiously. "For superheroes to go to when they get hurt, so their identity doesn't get figured out?"

"Stark might have something set up," Yuuri replies. He shrugs. "I've heard some rumors that there's a nurse at Metro-General who works with some superheroes, but I don't know anything more about it." He offers Isabella a small smile. "I'm sure King is okay."

Isabella nods. She realizes she's holding her notepad far too tightly and forces herself to loosen her grip.

A moment later, King flies out the window, this time of his own volition, and Cryo and the unknown third hero come out of the window on an ice slide. The slide disappears once they hit the ground, although King hovers instead of landing. Cryo says something to the police officers who are waiting nearby, then they rush into the building.

"The situation is dealt with!" King yells. "We stopped them, King style!" He holds his hands out in a weird gesture Isabella can't decipher, until she realizes he's making a K with his fingers. It's silly, but oddly charming.

The unknown third hero, who looks very young, groans loudly enough that Isabella can hear him from a few yards away. Cryo glares at him and grabs his arm. "I won't be able to take questions now" - Yuuri groans, but Isabella thinks he actually looks a bit relieved - "but King can relay the details of what happened." Before anyone can say anything else, Cryo and the third hero are off on an ice slide, and King has moved in closer.

"Any questions for the King?" he cries.

The reporters all start clamoring immediately. Isabella joins the cacophony, although she's certain King won't hear her questions among all the others. To her surprise, however, he looks over at her and points.

"You're with the _New York Bulletin_ , right?"

Isabella blinks. "Um, yes, I'm with the _Bulletin_."

King grins. "Cool. Ask away, _Bulletin_ girl."

Isabella ignores Yuuri gaping at her and the glares from the other reporters and pretends it's not surprising at all to be singled out like this. "Can you tell us what happened in there?"

"Bad guys with a bomb," King replies as if it's a casual, everyday thing for him. Isabella supposes it sort of is, although King hasn't been a superhero for that long. "Cryo and I stopped them."

"Who was the third hero with you?" Isabella asks.

King shrugs. "He tagged along with Cryo. Called himself Ice Tiger." Yuuri scribbles madly on his notepad next to Isabella.

"What do you have to say to the statement made by _The Daily Bugle_ that superheroes are an epidemic?" a reporter from _The Daily Globe_ yells. King winks at Isabella before turning to answer the question.

"He just _winked_ at me," Isabella says, her voice a little faint.

"Superheroes are all unfairly charming," Yuuri agrees.

King only answers a few more questions before he flies off. Once he's gone, the crowd disperses. "Do you want to get lunch?" Yuuri asks. "There's a nice café near here. Phichit and I have gone a couple times."

"I've got to start writing this article, sorry," Isabella replies. "Maybe next time."

"Good luck with the article!" Yuuri calls.

"Thanks!" Isabella calls back, already walking back to the office. She still can't believe that King singled her out, spoke to her specifically, and then _winked_ at her. Yuuri's right, superheroes are unfairly charming.

"So," Phichit says the second Isabella walks back into the office. She jumps about a foot in the air.

"What the hell, Phichit?"

"A little birdie tells me that King winked at you," Phichit says, utterly unabashed. He waggles his phone in Isabella's face, letting her see that he's texting with Yuuri. "Anything else you wanna tell me?"

"I've got to write this article, Phichit," Isabella replies, pushing past him. "The faster I can have it done, the better."

"Okaaaaaaaaay," Phichit replies, dragging the word out in a sing-song fashion. "I'm going to meet Yuuri for lunch. You want us to bring you back something?"

"I'm good," Isabella replies. "Thanks for the offer."

Phichit grins. "I'll leave you with your King article," he says. "Be careful you don't get as obsessed as Yuuri."

Isabella sticks her tongue out at Phichit, since it's the only real response she can give, and walks to her desk with the sound of his laughter echoing behind her. She sets down her camera, notepad, and bag, then she opens her computer and gets to work.

* * *

Otabek gets back from his internship at Stark Industries just as JJ begins thinking about whether he should order food or cook something himself. He's leaning heavily towards ordering a pizza, but he also might be able to talk Otabek into helping him cook something.

"Have you talked to Cryo since he and Ice Tiger left?" Otabek asks, setting down his bag and sitting heavily on the couch.

"Nope," JJ replies. "Wasn't expecting to. How was the internship?"

"Same as usual. I still haven't gotten a chance to look at the Iron Man suit, but I think I might be able to soon."

JJ bumps Otabek on the shoulder. "Soon, you'll start working with Iron Man and forget all about poor King."

Otabek's lips twitch into a slight grin. "As if you'd ever let me forget about you. I still remember how many times you texted me when I went back to visit family in Almaty for a week."

"I was bored!"

"How was dealing with the press after the fight?" Otabek asks. "I'm sorry I had to turn off the comm."

"Eh, no problem," JJ replies. "I talked with the girl there from the _New York Bulletin_ , since they don't seem to hate superheroes as much as the _Bugle_ or the _Globe_."

"The _Globe_ isn't too bad," Otabek counters.

JJ shrugs. "Yeah, but the _Bulletin_ is the most pro-superhero, and the reporter was really cute." Otabek grins. JJ rolls his eyes. "Come on, you know I'm a sucker for a cute girl."

"What did she look like?"

"Medium dark hair, pretty pale, really cute," JJ replies.

"You mentioned that already."

"She's cute enough to mention it again."

Otabek looks at JJ for a moment, then shakes his head with a grin. "You've got it bad."

"She's _cute_ ," JJ whines. "And she seemed nice. She didn't ask any rude questions." Some of the journalists asked some _very_ rude questions, and JJ's still annoyed with the one from the _Bugle_. It wasn't _his_ fault the window got broken, even if he was the one who got thrown through it. Anyway, if he hadn't been in there, the whole building would have exploded, taking half the street with it. JJ's humble opinion was that a broken window was significantly better than an explosion.

"Do you know her name?" Otabek asks.

JJ offers him a sheepish grin.

"JJ…"

"I figure I'll wait and see who writes an article about the bomb at the _Bulletin_ , and then I'll know who she is!" JJ protests.

"And then what?" Otabek counters.

"Tell her I liked her article," JJ replies. "I mean, if I do like her article. I think I will."

Otabek shakes his head fondly. "You're a hopeless romantic."

"She's _cute_!"

Otabek gets up and walks over to the kitchen. "Do we have any food?"

"I can order pizza," JJ offers. "Or we can cook something ourselves."

"I know we should cook, but I'm way too tired for that. Pepperoni, please."

"One pepperoni pizza, coming up." JJ picks up his phone and calls in the order. Otabek returns to the living room while he's calling and drops back onto the couch. He pulls something out of his bag and starts tinkering. JJ's surprised he lasted so long without some sort of electronic in his hands.

"Should be here in ten minutes," JJ announces. "Ugh, I'm going to need to work this off at the gym tomorrow."

"You could have cooked."

"Nah, the pizza's worth it."

Otabek snorts. "Okay."

"What are you working on?" JJ asks, shuffling closer to Otabek to get a better look. "Something for your internship?"

"Something for your suit, actually," Otabek replies. "Mr. Stark came up with the idea. If it works, it should be able to produce a small shield."

"Huh." JJ frowns down at the little mess of electronics. "A very small shield."

Otabek smirks. "It would be about two feet in diameter, although we might be able to make it a little bigger."

"Two feet?" JJ looks at the electronics again. "How?"

"Magic," Otabek deadpans.

"Would it be able to stop bullets?"

"If it works, yeah."

"Then I don't care how you make it, as long as it works."

"Mr. Stark wants to see you tomorrow, by the way," Otabek adds. "He had a few other ideas for your costume. And I think he had a few questions about Cryo and Ice Tiger."

"Cool." JJ enjoys his meetings with Stark, although he always feels a little intimidated by them. He knows Otabek feels the same at the thought of being in the same room as Tony Stark, one of the greatest inventors and engineers of the modern age. For JJ, it's being in the same room as Iron Man, who was always JJ's favorite superhero. JJ would never have considered being a superhero when his powers manifested if not for Iron Man's example.

"You're okay, right?" Otabek asks suddenly, looking up at JJ with narrowed eyes. "I saw the footage, you were thrown through a window."

"A couple cuts, a couple bruises, but nothing bad," JJ replies. "I'm fine. I'll be back to normal by tomorrow."

"You know Mr. Stark has his clinic in the Tower, right?"

"I know, Otabek. You've told me a million times. But I don't _need_ the clinic."

"But if you ever do-"

"I'll go, I promise." It's a tired argument. Otabek doesn't like the thought of JJ getting hurt while he's doing his superhero thing. JJ doesn't think he needs another mom worrying over him and makes this clear. Not that his mother knows that he's moonlighting as a superhero; she would freak out if she did. As far as his parents know, he's just doing an internship at Stark Industries with Otabek. He is sort of doing an internship, and he might actually take Stark up on his offer to do an actual internship in the advertising department, but the main part of his work with Stark is done in a costume.

The pizza comes before too long, and JJ and Otabek both shovel slices into their mouths. "Do we have a subscription to the _New York Bulletin_?" JJ asks between bites.

"Don't think so."

"We should get one."

"Wait to see if your cute reporter likes you back first."

"Ota _bek_."

"Just saying."

* * *

The article is a success. Ellison is thrilled, and even more thrilled that King picked Isabella out of the crowd, specifically wanting to talk with the reporter from the _Bulletin_. Isabella, for her part, just hopes this is a sign of more good things to come.

And then one of the interns - a kid with a shock of dyed red hair flopping over the rest of his blonde locks - hands her an envelope with her name written on it in neat print.

"This was in the mail slot," he tells her. "It's safe, security checked it over."

"Thanks," Isabella replies, trying to figure out what this means. She's gotten letters after she's written articles before, but never this quickly, and never in unmarked envelopes with nothing but her name written on them.

Slowly, she opens up the envelope, not sure what to expect. Inside is a single folded sheet of paper. She pulls it out and smooths out the folds, reading the words printed in the same neat handwriting as the envelope.

 _Miss Yang,_

 _Your article was very flattering. There are a couple more things I'd like to say to the public, and you seem like just the reporter to share them with. If you're interested, meet me at the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park tonight at 9._

 _Hope to see you there,_

 _King_

Isabella stares at the letter for a long, long moment. King liked her article? He wants to meet her tonight? He wants to give her an exclusive?

It seems too good to be true, which, in Isabella's experience, means it probably is. But she's a reporter, and she needs this story, so she's not going to run the risk of missing an interview with King just because she thinks someone's playing a trick on her. The letter says to be at Central Park at nine, so Isabella is going to be at Central Park at nine. Whatever's going to happen will happen, but Isabella is at least going to try.

"Isa _bel_ la!" Phichit calls from across the office, which is more notice than Isabella normally gets with him. She slides the letter under her laptop casually as he bounds over to her desk, dragging Yuuri behind him. "Minami says you got a letter?"

"Just a letter about the article I wrote," Isabella replies, shrugging. "Nothing special."

"Your article was great," Yuuri compliments. "Ellison seemed pleased."

"I hope so," Isabella replies. "But I still need an exclusive before I get the promotion." An exclusive that, if all goes well, she might be able to get tonight. She's not confident enough about the letter to bank on it, but it would be amazing if it were real.

"King _did_ single you out yesterday," Yuuri replies. "You might be able to get an exclusive before too long."

"I wish _I_ had a superhero to write about," Phichit sighs. "Maybe I can write about this Ice Tiger kid."

"He seemed like a brat," Isabella warns.

"Yeah, but superheroes are superheroes. If he is a brat, I bet the _Bugle_ will have a field day."

"Some reporter from the _Bugle_ asked King if he was going to pay for the broken window," Isabella cries, infuriated all over again at the memory. She'd been furious about it the day before, but she'd almost forgotten in the chaos of writing her own article. "As if it was his fault that it broke."

"The _Bugle_ is the worst," Yuuri replies sagely. "You get used to it."

"That's why superheroes need reporters like us," Phichit adds grandly. "To stand up to _The Daily Bugle_ and right its wrongs!"

"So we're like superheroes for superheroes?" Isabella asks.

"Exactly!"

The door to Ellison's office opens and Phichit quickly scurries back to his desk, Yuuri racing after him. Isabella opens up her laptop and tries to look productive, although all she can think about is the letter hiding underneath it.

King wants to talk to her. Maybe Phichit isn't too far off the mark with his idea that superheroes need reporters like them. King certainly thinks he does, and Isabella doesn't think it's all flattery. King definitely seems like a flatterer, but she thinks there's more to it.

Then again, this is all assuming that it really is King who sent the letter to her and not someone faking it to mess with her. She doesn't see why anyone would do that, but she doesn't pretend to understand how some people think. She doesn't want to tell Phichit, since that means it'll be office gossip in about two seconds, and she doesn't want to tell Yuuri, because he can't keep a secret from Phichit to save his life. However, she can tell her roommate Sara, and then she'll have someone who knows where she is and what she's doing. Sara, she's pretty sure, is going to be out all night on a date with her girlfriend Mila, but Isabella's sure that the two of them wouldn't mind if she figured out some system of checking in with them throughout the night, to make sure that her meeting didn't go horribly wrong.

She doesn't know why - and maybe it's foolish and overly optimistic and naïve, she admits that freely - but she has the feeling that this isn't going to go wrong at all. Something about the letter feels genuine. Something about it reminds her of King, the way he singled her out and winked at her. She could be wrong - there's a high chance that she is, actually - but she has the feeling that her meeting is going to go better than she could even imagine.

* * *

JJ arrives at the Alice in Wonderland statue a few minutes before nine, but the reporter from the _New York Bulletin_ is already there. She jumps when JJ touches down in front of her, eyes wide and staring as if she can't quite believe he's real.

"You look surprised to see me, Miss Yang," JJ remarks, trying to sound charming. "Didn't think I'd show up?"

"I thought this might be a prank, honestly," she replies, still looking a little starstruck. She blinks a few times and shakes herself. "Oh, and you can call me Isabella."

"Isabella," JJ repeats. "It's a very pretty name."

Isabella smiles, something mischievous in it. "Aren't you going to tell me your name? It's only fair."

JJ snorts. "I'm not going to give up my secret identity just like that."

"Would make one hell of a scoop, though."

With that, JJ remembers why he's there. Not just to flirt, but also to do his best to set the record straight. Of course, being as new to the superhero gig as he is, he doesn't have much of a record to set straight, but he does have a few things he wants to say, and saying them through the _Bulletin_ seems like as good an idea as any. The fact that it lets him meet Isabella again is a definite positive.

"Are you going to give me a scoop?" Isabella asks, suddenly looking uncertain. "It's just- If I can get an exclusive with you, my editor has promised me a promotion."

"And is that the only reason you want to talk to me, Isabella?" JJ asks, hoping he sounds a little teasing and a little seductive.

Isabella blushes slightly. "I don't think you'd find many people who would turn down talking to a superhero."

"I do want to talk with you," JJ tells her. "An interview, sort of, except I choose the questions. I don't know if that counts as a scoop, but you can publish everything. Unless I say you can't."

"So you make the rules?" Isabella asks wryly.

"Sorry, but that's the only way this is gonna work."

Isabella shrugs. "I was sort of expecting this anyway. Honestly, actually talking with you is more than I could have hoped for. Whatever you want to tell me, I'm glad to hear it, and if you want it shared with the world, I'll do my best to share it."

JJ is so in love with this girl.

"Do you mind if I record the conversation?" Isabella asks, pulling out her phone. "I don't have to if you don't feel comfortable."

"Go ahead," JJ replies. He'll just have to be sure he doesn't say anything he wouldn't want on tape.

"Thanks," Isabella replies, pressing a button on her phone and setting it down. "It'll make it easier to write the article later."

"Can you run the article by me before you publish it?" JJ asks. "I mean, I trust you, but just in case?"

"Sure," Isabella agrees easily. "How should I get in contact with you?"

"How long will it take to write the article?"

Isabella frowns. "I think I can have it done by the day after tomorrow."

"Okay, then meet me here that night at nine," JJ replies. "I'll look over the article with you, how's that?"

"Sounds good to me," Isabella replies. "I'll see you then." She looks at King curiously. "So what do you want the article to be about anyway?"

"Setting the record straight, mostly," JJ replies, sitting down on one of the mushrooms in the statue. Isabella sits near him, her phone between them. "I want to share a couple of things before the _Bugle_ can twist absolutely everything about me."

"The _Bugle_ is good at that," Isabella agrees. "So what do you want to set straight?"

JJ grins. "Well..."

It goes on like that, with Isabella gently prompting and JJ sharing what he feels comfortable telling the world. He doesn't mention anything that could link his superhero identity to his civilian one, or anything about Otabek, who prefers to work behind the scenes without anyone knowing he's doing anything at all. Isabella scribbles notes on a pad a few times, but for the most part, she listens, nodding and asking questions occasionally. Maybe it's part of being a reporter, or maybe it's just her, but Isabella is a really good listener.

"I think that's it," JJ declares after they've been talking for about an hour. "Wow, that took longer than I thought it would. It's getting kinda late."

"It's only ten," Isabella replies, turning off her phone and tucking it into her bag. "And honestly, having to stay out a little late is a small price to pay for a scoop like this. Thank you, King."

"So you just talked to me for the scoop?" JJ asks, careful to keep his voice teasing even though he'd honestly like to know the answer.

"Hmm," Isabella replies, her eyes sparkling. "I guess you are pretty charming. Maybe seventy-thirty. Seventy percent scoop, thirty percent your charm."

"Flattering," JJ replies dryly. "I'll have to work harder to charm you next time."

Isabella stands with a smile. "I look forward to it."

"Let me walk you home," JJ offers impulsively. Now that Isabella is about to leave, he realizes he doesn't want this night to end. He really likes Isabella, and he's definitely glad he's already set up a time to see her again.

"Oh!" Isabella looks startled at the offer. "No, it's fine, I don't live too far away."

"Please," JJ replies earnestly. "It's late, and this city can be dangerous at night. Trust me, I know."

Isabella smiles. "So this is your professional advice, as a superhero?"

"Um, yes."

"Then I suppose I'd better take it."

JJ offers Isabella his arm. "My lady." Isabella laughs as she takes it. "I could fly you home," JJ offers. "If you want."

"Maybe next time," Isabella replies, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. JJ's heart explodes at the thought of a "next time."

They chat on the way back to Isabella's apartment, talking about mindless stuff like TV shows and favorite books. Isabella mentions a roommate and JJ, being careful not to say anything too revealing, tells her a bit about rooming with Otabek. Isabella, he learns, has the most beautiful laugh.

"Well, this is me," Isabella finally asks, stopping in front of an apartment building. "This was fun."

"Yeah, it was," JJ replies, incredibly aware that this sounds like the sort of thing you say after a date.

"I'll have the article ready for you to read over by the night after next," Isabella adds.

"Right, the article." JJ almost forgot about it.

Isabella steps up to the door, shifting her weight from leg to leg. "Well, um, night, King."

Impulsively, not giving himself time to think this through, JJ leans forward and presses a kiss to Isabella's cheek. "Goodnight, Bella."

Isabella's eyes are wide. JJ panics and takes off, flying up into the sky. He _does_ have to patrol around the city, after all. It's part of being a superhero.

But he can't help but look back down at Isabella quickly before he flies off. She's standing where he left her, her fingers against her cheek. He can't see for certain, but he's pretty sure she's smiling when she finally goes into her apartment building.

JJ's smiling pretty widely himself.


End file.
